Complete Guide to Life Drawing

Gottfried Bammes, born in 1920 in Freital, Germany, worked as an art teacher at the College of Fine Arts in Dresden. Bammes was a prolific writer and artist, was considered to be a master of life drawing and anatomy,and produced numerous books on the subject in his lifetime. In 1974 he was awarded the National Prize of the German Democratic Republic for Science and Technology and received the Culture and Art Prize of the City of Freital in 2000. He died in 2007.

Preface 8



Basic approaches 10



Study of Proportion

The principal proportions of the body 12, The contours of the male body 14, Building the structure for a male figure 16, The male figure broken down into geometrical shapes 18, The male figure: structural issues and exercises 20, Further exercises on the male figure 26, The male figure in profile 30, The female figure 32, Exercises on drawing the female figure 34, Studies of the female figure with further exercises 40, The young female figure 46, Studies of the young female figure with exercises 50, Sketchbook work 54, The young male figure 58, The child’s figure 60, Infants (2–5 years) and pre-pubescent children (7–10½ years) 62, Young figures in sketchbook work 64



Rest and Movement

Studies with a brush 68, The contrapposto stance 72, Exercises and sketchbook work 74, Exercises recommended for locomotive movement 84, Examples of different movements and solutions 86



Legs and Feet

Overall structure and recommended exercises 94, Structure and mechanism of the knee joint 100, Exercises in drawing the thigh and knee 104, Structural shape of the foot skeleton 108, Exercises in drawing feet 112, The leg as a whole with its muscle groups and mass 116, Exercises for studies of the leg 120



Torso and Shoulder Girdle

From the basic skeletal shape to the developed form 128, Exercises on drawing the skeleton of the torso 132, Shoulder girdle and rib cage 136, The torso muscles 140